


Only the Mind for Company

by graciegirl2001



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Al needs a hug, Other, but he has to grow up so fast, he's really just a kid still, mini character study?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-14
Updated: 2018-08-14
Packaged: 2019-06-27 06:48:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15680169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/graciegirl2001/pseuds/graciegirl2001
Summary: Edward sleeps. And while Edward sleeps, Alphonse thinks. Because sometimes that's all there is left to do.





	Only the Mind for Company

The room was warm... or at least he imagined it was. He hadn't felt heat or cold for a very long time. However, Ed rested uncomfortably atop his covers, and a bead of sweat left a path down the side of his face. He looked miserable.

Al wished he could be miserably hot too.

He wished for a lot of things, only in his head of course, but by now Al knew wishes couldn't be granted by sheer will. The world just didn't work that way.

Still, Al reminisced the feeling of sunshine, and the way it filled your whole self with warmth, all the way down to your toes. He longed for the sensation of combing your hair... of brushing your teeth. He strained to remember the prickle of grass beneath bare feet. He wanted to eat, to sleep, to dream, to _feel._

But such hopes were childish. The unchanging fact was there was no skin on his bones to seep in sunlight or stretch across fields of wildflowers. Ed was trying as hard as he could, and he didn't need an ungrateful, melancholy little brother to tow around along with two automail limbs.

So instead, Al studied the sliver moonlight peeking through their curtains, and watched over the most important person in his life. He read books and drew out imaginary transmutation circles on the windowsill. Al mulled over each and every time he and Ed had gone wrong until he was certain if given the chance to go back in time, he could fix every problem in the entire world.

And when Ed stretched in the sunlight, asking his brother how his night was, Al would say "Fine"... making sure to lilt his tone just so, as to create a mask of indifference and cheer.

Because Al was not a child anymore, and there were people that needed him to be strong.

Al was unbreakable, and powerful, and he had very important things to do... so when Ed stepped into the bathroom to get ready for the day, the fourteen year old stretched out his metal palm for only a second before turning away, allowing the sunlight to glance off splendidly.


End file.
